PHOTO | ATRIUM HEALTH

An artist's rendering of Wake Forest School of Medicine breaks ground this year on a 20-acre campus located in Midtown Charlotte less than mile away from Carolinas Medical Center. The medical school is part of the Pearl innovation district to be built in the former Brooklyn neighborhood.

To pay homage to the historic Brooklyn neighborhood, Atrium Health plans to develop the Charlotte Innovative District known as The Pearl.

Groundbreaking will take place this year and will be located at the intersection of Baxter and McDowell streets in Midtown Charlotte.

The Pearl innovation district will be built in the formerly Black Brooklyn community, a “city within a city” where thriving Black-owned businesses, faith communities and families lived, worked, and played. However, in the 1950s and ‘60s, gentrification took place in the area, displacing nearly 1,000 families, more than 200 businesses and 12 churches.

“Many might say this area of town and its rich history have been largely overlooked,” said Atrium Health President and CEO Gene Woods. “But we’re here now to begin a new chapter to this story and honor this special place as we empower the neighborhoods around it, which are shaped by diverse people and perspectives, rooted in inclusivity, and belonging, and filled with endless potential. I’m pleased to share that Charlotte’s new innovation district, The Pearl, will be a place where Charlotte’s historic vitality meets its innovative future. It’s a place where excellence lives, and where excellence is learned.”

One piece of Brooklyn that remains is Pearl Street Park, the first African American park in the city and a popular hangout spot to this day.

Brooklyn was near Good Samaritan Hospital in Third Ward, an African American hospital rooted that was connected to Atrium Health’s flagship Carolinas Medical Center. Good Samaritan was staffed by Black doctors, nurses, and health workers who treated and cared for African Americans during a time of rigid segregation in the South.

“I once lived in the neighborhood called Brooklyn and spent a lot of my time at the well-known Pearl Street Park,” said the Rev. Janet Garner-Mullins. “One of the things that I remember is Brooklyn was an entity in itself. Everything we needed was in our community, except for the hospital. I’m very hopeful and optimistic that the future of the innovation district would be beneficial to our community, especially the Black and brown community.”

The innovation district will be a public-private partnership with the city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County committing $75 million in infrastructure to Phase I of the development.
The Pearl will be home to Wake Forest University School of Medicine Charlotte and focus on innovation and expanding technology and healthcare industries. There will be development from education, retail, minority businesses, apartments, a hotel, and open community space.

“I am extremely excited about the future of The Pearl and the planning in place to recognize and honor the rich history of the surrounding neighborhood,” Mayor Vi Lyles said. “As a strong public private partnership, The Pearl will be a new crown for the Queen City, bringing new jobs, investments and opportunity.”

Over the next 15 years, the district is expected to create more than 11,500 jobs, including 5,500 onsite jobs, with 40% of the positions not requiring a college degree.

The hub is a partnership with Atrium Health, Wexford Science and Technology, local government, and the community, including Johnson C. Smith University and people who once lived in Brooklyn.

The purpose of innovation districts is to serve as a place for entrepreneurship, creativity, and innovation. While The Pearl will focus on research, the ultimate purpose is to create a sense of “livability and community” in the Queen City.

“It takes a great deal of time to create a pearl in its natural environment,” Woods said. “And, just like a pearl, our journey to build an innovation district will, no doubt, require time, energy and determination. However, with the support and the strength of our friends and partners from the city of Charlotte, Mecklenburg County, and the state of North Carolina, together we will create the crowning jewel of the Queen City.”

Aaliyah Bowden, who covers health for The Post, is a Report For America corps member.

Comments